The loss of the Greater Grail.
This signified that the "Black" faction's advantage had completely vanished.
No matter how powerful the Servants one commanded, the Holy Grail War was fundamentally a struggle over the Grail itself. For the "Black" faction, which held the Greater Grail that powered the Holy Grail, this was their battle standard, their symbol of hope, and the guiding path for the restoration of Yggdmillennia.
And now, it was on the verge of being stolen by the enemy's vicious scheme.
"This is bad." Watching the Greater Grail being lifted into the sky, Archer was the first to mutter.
Losing the Greater Grail would push the "Black" faction into an increasingly disadvantageous position. Even if he tried to snipe, the enemy was holed up inside their fortress and wouldn't come out. It would be fine if they showed their faces even a little, but that didn't seem likely.
"Archer, so you're here." The one who came, stepping over the rubble, was "Black" Saber. His cool expression remained unchanged, but the look of tension on his face was even more severe than before the battle.
"Saber. Your side?"
"The Masters' safety is secured. We are going to retrieve the Greater Grail now. Lancer also hopes for your participation, Archer."
"I see. If it's the King's command, I cannot refuse."
"That is reassuring."
"I cannot perform as well as you."
Archer responded to Saber, who was trying hard to act seriously, with a sarcastic smile.
The Greater Grail had not yet been fully absorbed into the aerial fortress. If they could sever the connection between the Greater Grail and the aerial fortress now, they could still reclaim it.
To do that, they had to storm the aerial fortress and fight the enemy Servants.
Charging into the enemy's stronghold to fight superior opponents was a situation any sane person would hesitate to enter, but unfortunately, these were Servants. They were prepared for hardships and suffering. They were heroes who had overcome such things. They understood the danger, but they would not stop in fear.
"That's the situation. Fiore, Caules. I will charge into the enemy camp with Saber. The enemy Caster is probably focusing their power on seizing the Grail, and with Berserker here, you should be safe for the time being."
Entrusting the two Masters to Berserker, Archer headed for the aerial fortress with Saber. Including "Black" Lancer and "Black" Caster, who joined them along the way, they mobilized all available "Black" faction forces to challenge the aerial fortress and reclaim the Greater Grail.
The "Black" Servants who stormed the aerial fortress were intercepted by the waiting "Red" Servants.
Rider's opponent remained, as before, "Black" Archer. While the attacked "Red" side had the choice of who to fight, Rider had no intention of fighting any other Servant until he had "settled things" with that Archer.
'What a hassle,' "Red" Rider clicked his tongue and leaped back. A precisely aimed golden arrow passed through where he had been.
Rider was a great hero active in the Trojan War. World-famous, his abilities ranked among the very top of all heroes. And a Servant's status is greatly influenced by fame. The more a Servant is known in a land, the closer they can exhibit their combat abilities from their lifetime. That was precisely why Rider—Achilles's—status was extremely high. Those who didn't know his name were few and far between. Especially in Europe. The "Black" faction had summoned Vlad III, a great hero of this country, as Lancer because the site of the Great Holy Grail War was Romania. This was also a tactic utilizing fame, but from "Red" Rider's perspective, it was something to be dismissed with a scornful laugh. Unlike "Black" Lancer, who could only exhibit his original specs locally, Rider could fight at peak performance anywhere. And that was what a true great hero was.
However, conversely, this also meant that Rider had not considered the possibility of fighting without the benefit of fame correction.
"Red" Assassin's super Noble Phantasm, the 'Hanging Gardens of Babylon,' was a giant floating fortress. Within this fortress, all of Assassin's stats were ranked up, and she gained the highest fame. However, on the flip side, because the fortress fell under Assassin's dominion, the fame of Servants other than Assassin became nearly zero.
This meant that the highest-tier heroes were shackled with the greatest restraints.
The heaviness Rider felt in his body, the difficulty in moving, was precisely caused by the degradation of his spiritual rank due to being unable to receive fame correction.
His opponent was "Black" Archer.
The scenario of "Red" Servants intercepting the "Black" Servants who had stormed the Hanging Gardens to prevent the Grail's seizure was the exact opposite of the previous scenario of "Red" Servants besieging the Fortress of Millennia, but each individual's opponent remained unchanged.
Everyone wanted to fight the one they had identified as their enemy until they took their head, and Rider himself also believed that this Archer was one he must defeat.
Therefore, Archer appearing as an enemy was not a problem.
Archer deflected Rider's thrusting spear with his twin swords and launched the Noble Phantasms waiting in the air. As ever, he was an eerie Servant who wielded countless Noble Phantasms with ever-changing versatility. Even if they were fakes, the fact that they possessed the rank of Noble Phantasms was a threat.
"What's wrong, Rider? Your body seems quite heavy. Are you already tired?" Keeping his sharp gaze fixed, Archer provocatively asked Rider.
"Hah. ...Shut up, Archer. You can only act so smug for now."
Since the rematch between Rider and Archer began, Rider had been the one pressing the attack. That was no different from before. Archer's physical abilities weren't high, being only at a level that even a Rider with zero fame could defeat without issue. The reason he hadn't managed it yet was probably because Archer was a skilled fighter that even Rider had to admire. While he felt no innate talent, the essence of martial prowess honed to the level of a hero was present here. It was the polar opposite of the swordsmanship of a natural genius like Rider, who had attained martial prowess rivaling numerous heroes in roughly ten-some years, and that alone showed the extent of the effort Archer had accumulated.
He wasn't being pushed back, but he couldn't break through.
The scenario remained unchanged; only Archer's counterattacks had slightly increased.
'Seriously, being too famous is a problem too,' Rider thought to himself idly as he knocked down an incoming sword with the shaft of his spear.
Of course, a little heaviness in his body wasn't enough to trouble Rider. A hero isn't someone who gains great power by becoming a hero; it's a title granted as proof that they fully demonstrated their great power to the world. Therefore, it was unthinkable that Rider would falter just because his fame was zero.
Only one thing concerned him: the opposing "Black" Archer.
He, too, should be unable to receive fame correction due to the Hanging Gardens' influence. Despite that, why was there no significant change in his movements?
With Rider's level of skill, it was easy to gauge an enemy's condition just by crossing blades. Judging from that, that Archer was almost unaffected by this battlefield's influence. He maintained the exact same status as when fighting outside.
While Rider, as a great hero, suffered significant restrictions inside the Hanging Gardens due to his high fame, Archer, who originally had low fame, probably suffered less from the disadvantage of losing fame correction.
Rider easily reached that conclusion.
Because of this, one could say the gap between Rider's and Archer's specs had narrowed, if only slightly.
This was also the reason Archer's counterattacks had increased.
"Well, it's certainly harder to fight... but that's all, Archer. Once I get used to it, it's nothing." Even if their specs had drawn slightly closer, it was only a tiny amount. Rider was still a great hero, and Archer was still a Servant of unknown origin. Since Archer wasn't being strengthened, for Rider, once he got used to the difficulty of movement, he could fight with little difference from before.
Archer hastily overlapped his twin swords to block Rider's spear as he launched a swift attack.
"Guh...!" Archer let out a groan of anguish.
Stopping Rider's god-speed thrust, loaded with his body weight, was an extremely difficult task. If Archer hadn't leaped backward the moment he blocked it, his swords would have been knocked aside and his chest gouged out.
"You stopped that one. I'll acknowledge you. That tactical eye and technique would hold up fairly well even in the Trojan War."
"I am honored by your praise, Rider."
Archer, having regained his posture, gripped the hilts of his twin swords and took a stance. A simple, sturdy stance. It itself had no openings, and the openings that seemed visible were also feints.
It was truly a battle synonymous with a siege, which was precisely why he was worth defeating.
Rider poured his entire soul into his spear and unleashed a thrust to gouge out Archer's heart.
However, Rider's spear did not pierce Archer.
Before Rider's spear could reach Archer, Rider pulled back his attack and created distance.
Because an abnormal situation had occurred that he had to confirm, even if it meant taking his eyes off Archer.
He was being pushed back.
"Black" Lancer gritted his teeth and retreated.
Faced with the unexpected situation of the Greater Grail being stolen, the "Black" Servants had stormed the enemy's stronghold to attempt its recapture. As Lord, Lancer was also in a position where he had to deal with the thieves stealing his treasure. He had been determined to charge in and strike them down, but...
"Hmm, as I thought, you're not at your best, Lancer." Just as "Red" Archer analyzed, Lancer's movements were stiff, and his strength had weakened.
If his previous power was ten, now it was about sixty percent.
"This is land dominated by our Assassin. It is not Romania, so your fame has fallen to practically nothing." A Servant's combat ability is influenced by the original heroic spirit's specs, the Master's capability, and fame. Their parameters increase or decrease based on how much faith they garner in that land. "Black" Lancer, a national hero in Romania, boasted the highest level of fame within Romania and, thanks to his skill 'Demonic Defender of the State,' gained a combat power bonus equivalent to A-rank 'Mad Enhancement' on land he designated as his territory. Conversely, this meant that if he took even one step outside his territory, he would be significantly weakened.
Furthermore, while Lancer was recognized as one of the great heroes within Romania, outside, he was not known as the hero who defended the country from the Ottoman Turks but rather had aspects like being the model for the vampire or his cruelty of impalement emphasized, causing his anti-heroic aspects to stand out. Especially the former was a non-human demonic nature, a purely fictional monster different from Phantasmal Species. For Vlad III Lancer, summoned as a hero, this evil name acted as a bad status.
"Kuh..." Defiantly, Lancer summoned stakes from within his clothes. But their speed and power were pathetically weak compared to before.
The Anti-Army Noble Phantasm that could deploy up to twenty thousand stakes was no longer something to fear once he left his territory.
Lancer was a king, not a man of martial prowess. Through skills and fame, he gained abilities comparable to first-rate warrior-type Servants, but his personal martial prowess wasn't that great. In a contest of raw power, he couldn't possibly match Archer, Greece's greatest huntress.
An arrow fired by Archer pierced Lancer's shoulder. He deflected the second arrow with his spear, but the third arrow shot through his knee.
"Guh, u..." Even so, Lancer did not kneel.
Archer's power as a hero was overwhelmingly superior. Leg strength rivaling "Red" Rider, possession of unerring archery techniques, and a hunter's mindset that prioritized practical judgment over pride. Truly, a typical 'Archer' Servant, and probably among the top archers within that class.
Lancer swung his spear and launched stakes, engaging in combat. The only reason he faced an opponent with such vastly different specs was his heroic pride.
Clearing the ill repute of the vampire and truly reclaiming his name as a hero was his dream.
Therefore, he could not break as a hero. If he gave up on being a hero, all that would remain for him was the stigma of being a cruel monster.
But he couldn't reach.
There was no way the attacks of Lancer, who wasn't even a spear master, could reach Archer, whose name was listed among the fastest heroes.
Lancer's spear cut through empty air, his stakes merely gouging the ground haphazardly and rolling away. And the arrows fired in return steadily drove Lancer toward death.
Although he barely managed to avoid fatal wounds, he was approaching his limit.
'I see, so I am to die.' He suddenly became certain.
It couldn't be helped. This was the difference in power as heroes. There were probably strategic mistakes as well. He never imagined there was a space that could alter terrain effects. Failing to anticipate the worst-case scenario of the Greater Grail being stolen was also painful. Both Lancer and Darnic had exhausted every conceivable measure for this battle, but the opponent was simply one step ahead.
"No, it is not over yet, Lord. Not if you release that Noble Phantasm of yours." At Darnic's words, which appeared as if by magic, the movements of the Servants present halted.
Darnic's words implied that Lancer's Noble Phantasm was the trump card that could break this situation. The "Red" faction showed wariness, and the "Black" faction also distanced themselves from both the enemy Servants and Lancer.
And only Lancer glared at Darnic, brimming with clear killing intent.
"Darnic, what did you just say to me?"
"I advised you to release the strongest Noble Phantasm you possess. There is no other chance for victory."
"Don't be absurd!" Lancer roared with all his might.
"I said I absolutely refuse to use that Noble Phantasm, Darnic! Listen! Even if I were to perish here filled with regret, my ambition half-fulfilled, I would accept it! For that is the fate of the defeated! Even if there were a chance for victory, I will not become such a hideous form! I absolutely will not allow victory to be snatched in such a manner!"
"Lord. It is no longer the time for such words. Unlike you, who are merely a ghost of the past, we have an obligation to weave tomorrow. This battle cannot end in defeat. Therefore——" Darnic thrust the Command Spells before Lancer.
"Darnic!!"
"By my Command Spell, I order my Lord: 'Activate the Noble Phantasm Legend of Dracula: The Succession of Blood!'"
"You baaaaastard!! Daaaaaarniiiiiiic!!"
The Command Spell vanished from Darnic's arm. Simultaneously, an abnormality occurred in Lancer's body.
A jet-black mist billowed from Lancer's body. Vast magical energy began transforming his form.
"By the second Command Spell, I order you: 'Continue living until you obtain the Grail!'" Whether Lancer's anguished cries reached Darnic or not, the second Command Spell bound him.
"Guh, o, Gooooooooooooh!" Lancer lunged at Darnic. Smiling faintly, Darnic accepted Lancer's arm. Blood spurted, flesh was gouged out. Even for a magus, the pain of being impaled was unimaginable. But Darnick, coughing up blood, never stopped smiling. A magus must leave a path for their successors. With Yggdmillennia's future nearly severed by the Mage's Association, he, as the leader, had a duty to stake his life and show the way forward.
"My apologies, Lancer. As a final apology, feast upon my flesh and blood. Souls must be rather bland! For you are already a vampire who feeds on the flesh and blood of this world! By the third Command Spell, I order you: 'Engrave my existence upon your soul!'"
Who present could have understood the meaning of Darnic's words?
It was common for Servants to consume human souls to enhance their abilities. It was an act akin to admitting one's own inadequacy, a choice no proper magus would make, but Servants, being spiritual bodies, could consume human souls. But the reverse was not true. A Servant's soul was beyond the understanding of ordinary people. It should be impossible to consume one.
"That's right, a mere human cannot consume a Servant. But they can be engraved. My hundred years of obsession, the wish I entrust to the Grail... I am no longer Darnic, nor am I Vlad III. And I don't mind that."
Lancer's face contorted, taking on Darnic's features. Then, it seemed to return to Lancer's face. Servants are fundamentally spiritual bodies, so if that spiritual body transforms, so does their appearance.
Darnic's obsession, parasitizing Lancer's soul, was trying to alter Lancer's very nature.
Darnic was originally a specialist in souls. Through years of research, he had devised a magecraft to make others' souls his own sustenance.
Souls could be transferred to vessels or observed—that was the limit. They couldn't be directly made one's own and manipulated.
Darnic, who devised a magecraft to convert them into his own power, was indeed a first-rate magus.
However, that magecraft carried great danger.
A soul was fundamentally one's own alone, the core constituting the self. Incorporating another's color into it would result in implanting another's identity within oneself. It was dangerous magecraft where death loomed even under the best conditions for the ritual, and in these sixty years, he had only absorbed the souls of three people, a very small number. But with just those three rituals, Darnic's ego had already faded considerably. If he absorbed one more, the name Darnic would likely degenerate into a mere symbol, becoming something entirely different.
An inhuman magecraft, born from obsession.
A ritual that merely absorbed human souls into oneself, empowered by the vast magical energy of Command Spells capable of realizing limited miracles, now altered even a Servant's soul, pasting the label 'Darnic' onto the soul of Vlad III, who had become a vampire.
"Da, rnic... You... You baaaaastard!!" Boom! Magical energy swirled, creating a whirlwind.
Rider roared, radiating an oppressive feeling as if the status decrease from lost fame had never existed from the start.
"Have you lost your mind, Lancer's Master!" Nauseated by Darnic's utterly incomprehensible obsession, "Red" Archer fired an arrow, intending to take him out quickly.
"What!?" But "Red" Archer couldn't help but show astonishment.
"Red" Archer's arrow had indeed struck Lancer's chest. He was a stationary target. At this point-blank range, she couldn't miss, and it had accurately pierced his heart. But instead of the expected blood flow, a horrifying black mist welled up.
"Won't you die from a pierced heart?" Even she, a first-rate huntress who had slain the Calydonian Boar, had never encountered a monster that wouldn't die after having its heart shot through. This was far beyond the norms of a living creature.
"This has become troublesome." "Red" Lancer stood beside "Red" Archer. He directed a sharp gaze at the former "Black" Lancer.
It seemed he had temporarily broken off his fight with "Black" Saber to rush over. Now that "Black" Lancer had transformed to this extent, the "Black" faction was also in no position to fight. Everyone had temporarily ceased hostilities to watch the development of this abnormal situation.
"It seems destroying his spiritual core is meaningless now. He has forgotten even being a Servant and has become the vampire sung of in the legend." "Red" Lancer's assessment was correct.
Normally, a Servant's spiritual core exists in two locations: the heart and the brain. Destroying either one makes it impossible for them to exist in this world, and they vanish. But "Black" Lancer, having stepped outside the framework of a Servant and become the vampire of legend, had transformed his very body into something completely different from that of a Servant.
"He's a monster." A vampire different from Dead Apostles, yet also the most common vampire, Dracula. The vampire, a monster existing only in stories, is feared for its resilient body, immortality, and propagation through bloodsucking.
If such a thing were unleashed, Romania would become a city of the dead in a single night.
"Heroes... Make way... I must obtain the Grail. I must multiply. For the clan, for the pursuit of magecraft, I must obtain the Grail and produce those who will follow! So move aside! The Grail is... The Grail is miiine!"
The figure of "Black" Lancer, who never lost his noble demeanor no matter the situation, was gone.
His noble attire was tattered and decayed, and he had fallen into a humanoid monster.
The wish for the Grail, the clan's obsession. To achieve the ultimate goal of reaching the Root as a magus, he wished for the culmination of a life devoted to the preliminary stage: the prosperity of his clan.
If he were to obtain the Grail, it would likely lead to the tragedy of the monster vampire Dracula proliferating infinitely. This vampire, who was no longer Darnic nor "Black" Lancer, should have no wish as a magus. Moreover, he would never voice the wish that was "Black" Lancer's ardent desire, 'To renounce the blood-stained name of vampire,' which was nothing but self-denial.
"Hah! No matter what, you're just a monster far from the gods, aren't you?!" "Red" Rider utilized his swiftness to close the distance and thrust his spear.
The vampire blocked the supersonic thrust by sacrificing his own arm. Flesh tore, bone was exposed. But the vampire's regenerative ability instantly repaired the wound. On top of that, he didn't seem to feel any pain. With the spear still stuck in his arm, the vampire grabbed Rider by the collar and threw him down with his powerful arm strength.
"Tch" The vampire tried to bite Rider with his now-larger fangs. This time it was Rider's turn to guard with his arm. Rider's body could not be wounded except by those connected to gods or things capable of negating divine blessings. The reason he tried to block despite knowing this was that he felt something unsettling about the vampire's action.
The moment the vampire bit his arm, Rider felt an itch.
"Poison!?" Just as he thought that, two incoming arrows gouged out the vampire's eyes.
"Red" Archer had sniped him.
"Get away, Rider!"
"Sorry, ma'am!"
Taking advantage of the blinded moment, Rider kicked the vampire away and escaped.
"Do not let your guard down, Rider. The divine blessings may boast peerless strength against attacks, but they seem ineffective against bloodsucking."
"Yeah, seems so..." It was most regrettable for Rider, but the divine blessings granted to his body seemed to have no effect on the bloodsucking act, which signified fellowship. He had nearly become a vampire himself.
The vampire roared and sprinted. With legpower incomparable to his time as "Black" Lancer, he closed in on Rider and the others.
"What!?" Both "Red" Rider and "Red" Archer were surprised. The vampire paid no attention to them and leaped right over their heads.
"The Grail, perhaps!?" Whose shout was that?
The vampire prioritized seizing the Grail over defeating the enemies before him. Had he forgotten even the basic principle that the Grail couldn't be completed without defeating the Servants?
"This is bad." The one who responded was "Black" Saber.
He leaped before the vampire with his large frame.
"My King, please, return to your senses. Your wish was not meant to end like this. Have you forgotten the pride of the noble heroic spirit, Vlad III?"
At the admonishing words, the vampire stopped. Giri—he gritted his back teeth.
Reading the conflict within the vampire from that expression, Saber took a step forward and spoke as if advising him.
"My King—"
"Silence!" Cutting off Saber's words, the vampire screamed with a face as if spitting blood.
"Silence, silence, silence, silence! The Grail is mine. I will not give it to anyone. I must realize my wish, the prosperity of my clan!"
The vampire's thoughts had already become fixated solely on obtaining the Grail. Was Saber, who had stepped forward, no longer a reliable ally to him, but merely an obstacle? He mercilessly threw a clenched fist at Saber.
"Tch!" Saber was surprised by the vampire's physical strength.
Saber, who blocked the vampire's punch, was forced off balance by the sheer impact.
"Ooooooooooooooh!" Seizing the opening, the vampire kicked Saber in the stomach. Saber, sent flying, righted himself in mid-air and landed. "Black" Archer's snipe prevented a follow-up attack on Saber.
"Saber, are you unharmed?"
"Yeah, no problem."
"Black" Saber's endurance was very high, and he possessed a high-level defensive Noble Phantasm. Being punched or kicked only gave him scratches.
"This is getting us nowhere. Caster, do you think he can return to his senses?"
"Impossible. His very existence has been rewritten, and Darnic has parasitized his soul. Lancer himself no longer exists. Above all, three Command Spells were used. There's no helping it now."
"I see."
Even with A-rank 'Magic Resistance,' one couldn't defy two Command Spells. "Black" Lancer, who had become a monster by expending three Command Spells to obtain the Grail, could never return to his original state.
The next issue was whether that vampire could share interests with the "Black" faction.
If he would eliminate the enemies on his own and bring back the Grail, there was no need to fight. But if he intended to use that Grail only for his own wish, ignoring him would be too problematic for the "Black" faction.
And judging by the vampire's state, it was safe to assert that sharing interests was nearly impossible.
"Black" Archer and "Black" Saber stood blocking the vampire's path.
The vampire, looking vexed, suddenly noticed something and turned his gaze in a direction different from the Servants.
What appeared was a girl with flowing, shining golden hair, holding a holy flag.
"Ruler." At the words of "Black" Saber, who knew her, the other Servants' gazes also turned to Ruler.
"Lancer... no, you have become a vampire, I see." Stunned by the shocking sight, Ruler observed him carefully nonetheless.
Ruler is summoned when there is a danger of the Holy Grail War deviating from its proper course. Was the trigger the summoning of "Black" Lancer, who possessed a Noble Phantasm that turned him into a monster outside the Servant framework? It didn't feel like that was it. But if this vampire were left alone, it was certain the world would be destroyed.
Instantly, Ruler made her judgment.
"For the regulation of the Great Holy Grail War, I request everyone to temporarily enter a cooperative stance."
"The target is this vampire?" At "Red" Lancer's words, Ruler nodded.
"Yes, please cooperate to defeat him. We cannot allow this vampire to reach the Holy Grail."
Ruler rolled up her sleeve, revealing her Command Spells.
Then, she declared resolutely:
"By my Command Spells, I order all Servants present here: Defeat the vampire who was formerly the Lancer Servant!"
Special News Bulletin. Special News Bulletin. Announcement from the Yggdmillennia Public Relations Department. The "Black" faction entered a state of combat with the "Red" faction on the grasslands within the territory of the Fortress of Millennia in the early hours of this morning.
Enemy Servants launched from the enemy aerial fortress since this morning have made several sorties, primarily attacking the grasslands and forests within the Fortress of Millennia territory.
In the ensuing Servant battle, our Archer's sniping destroyed 250 enemy golems and defeated an enemy Rider. There were no casualties on our side during this period.
Due to the rampage of the Berserker captured from the enemy this morning, the battlefield suffered significant damage. The enemy Servants have withdrawn due to this reason. Damage to the Fortress of Millennia is minor.
The "Red" faction attempted to seize our Greater Grail, but this failed due to a desperate assault on the enemy fortress by our Servants. Combat is still ongoing, and the combat results achieved by the Servant units confirmed so far are as follows:
Rider: Destroyed.
Lancer: Destroyed.
Assassin: Defeated.
Numerous other Dragon Tooth Warriors.
"Archer. By my Command Spell, I order you——Blade, Descend!"